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Origin and history of heave

heave(v.)

Middle English heven, from Old English hebban "to lift, raise; lift up, exalt" (class VI strong verb; past tense hof, past participle hafen), from Proto-Germanic *hafjan (source also of Old Norse hefja, Dutch heffen, German heben, Gothic hafjan "to lift, raise"), from PIE *kap-yo-, from root *kap- "to grasp." The sense evolution would be "take, take hold of," thence "lift." Related to have (Old English habban "to hold, possess").

The meaning "to throw" is from 1590s. The nautical meaning "haul or pull" in any direction is by 1620s. Intransitive use is attested from early 14c. as "be raised or forced up;" 1610s as "rise and fall with alternate motion."

The sense of "retch, make an effort to vomit" is attested from c. 1600. Related: Heaved; heaving. Nautical heave-ho was a chant in lifting (c. 1300, hevelow; compare ho (interj.)).

heave(n.)

"act of heaving; a lifting, throwing, tossing or retching exertion," 1570s, from heave (v.). The figurative meaning "a dismissal" is attested by 1944. The heaves, a condition of laborious gasping or retching was originally a disease of horses (19c.).

also from 1570s

Entries linking to heave

have(v.)

Old English habban "to own, possess; be subject to, experience," from Proto-Germanic *habejanan (source also of Old Norse hafa, Old Saxon hebbjan, Old Frisian habba, German haben, Gothic haban "to have"), from PIE root *kap- "to grasp." Not related to Latin habere, despite similarity in form and sense; the Latin cognate is capere "seize.

Sense of "possess, have at one's disposal" (I have a book) is a shift from older languages, where the thing possessed was made the subject and the possessor took the dative case (as in Latin est mihi liber "I have a book," literally "there is to me a book"). Used as an auxiliary in Old English, too (especially to form present perfect tense); the word has taken on more functions over time; Modern English he had better would have been Old English him (dative) wære betere.

To have to for "must, be obliged to" (1570s) is from sense of "possess as a duty or thing to be done" (Old English). Phrase have a nice day as a salutation after a commercial transaction attested by 1970, American English. Phrase have (noun), will (verb) is from 1954, originally from comedian Bob Hope, in the form Have tux, will travel; Hope described this as typical of vaudevillians' ads in Variety, indicating a willingness and readiness to perform anywhere.

ho(interj.)

exclamation of surprise, etc., c. 1300; as an exclamation calling attention or demanding silence, late 14c. Used after the name of a place to which attention is called (as in Westward-Ho) it dates from 1590s, originally a cry of boatmen, etc., announcing departures for a particular destination. Ho-ho-ho expressing laughter is recorded from mid-12c.